ESSENCE, Refinery29, AFROPUNK, and Beautycon are getting a full reset. Sundial Media & Technology Group is putting creators and AI rights at the center. The company is done chasing random referral traffic. It wants direct ties to its audience. It wants to set the rules for how AI systems use and profit from its content.
Content from a single ESSENCE festival cycle generates approximately 68 billion impressions and over 300 million views, highlighting the scale of Sundial's audience-first model for live events and social distribution.
McDonald says trust and creator authority go hand in hand. ESSENCE and Refinery29 earned their names by knowing their audiences and staying credible. Creators do the same, but with a closer link to their fans. Sundial wants to give creators a trusted space. Accuracy, integrity, and transparency are not up for debate.
McDonald measures success by one thing: do people come back and get involved? Reach alone is not enough. For creators, the goal is real business and lasting value. For Sundial, it means making money from live events, brand deals, shopping, licensing, and long-term partnerships. Culture is the engine. Sundial has built creator studios in New Orleans. McDonald puts the value of content from these projects at $4.5-5 million. The company does not own all rights to this content. That detail comes from a recent industry analysis.
AI rights infrastructure
Sundial is betting big on AI rights. It has teamed up with Next Net and adopted the SAIL framework. SAIL stands for Standardised Agentic Intelligence Ledger. It launched in July. SAIL sets rules for how AI asks for permission, tracks use, keeps credit, and pays rights holders when using publisher content. McDonald sits on Next Net’s board. He says current licensing is a mess. Big publishers have the power. Small outlets and solo creators get left out.
In South Korea, 12 publishing and copyright associations have publicly outlined AI usage principles, emphasizing that humans are the subjects and bear responsibility, while AI is a tool. These guidelines also recommend labeling levels and compensation principles for AI-generated content.
McDonald says AI is fast becoming the main way people find and use information. Publishers need tools to set their own terms and track every use. SAIL is just a framework for now. It needs to become a real industry standard. That will only happen if more companies join in and if the payment system works for everyone.
Creators and AI rights-one fight
Sundial’s creator and AI rights plans are not separate. McDonald says they are the same fight. Both aim to make sure people who create culture get paid when others use their work. Sundial is pushing for an independent ledger to track content and rights. It wants fair credit and better pay for creators as their work moves through AI systems.
The goal is clear. Build a working model for permission, credit, and payment that can keep up with AI’s speed and scale. This is not just about saving old brands. It is about giving creators and publishers a way to win as AI-driven discovery takes over.
Other publishers are also testing new licensing models. Recent reports show a push to license small business content as a new revenue stream. Sundial stands out. It is focused on both creator power and building the tech to manage AI rights.
Editorial perspective
Sundial is not just reacting to the collapse of the old traffic model. It is making a sharp turn. Creator freedom and AI rights are now at the core. The company is setting new rules for digital media. The big question: can SAIL and similar tools grow beyond a few early users and deliver real value? For now, Sundial’s plan is a roadmap for media brands that want control over their content, audience, and future in a world run by AI.
